According to the acclaimed Homer’s epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey, the Greeks and the Trojans fought in a savage battle a long time ago. The Helen of Sparta had been captured by Prince Paris of Troy. The Greek soldiers, in their dedicated attempts to rescue their Queen, wanted to return to their homes. Athena, the Greek Goddess of War, struck up an unassailable plan with Odyssey.

The Greeks built up a wooden horse and hid in it while pretending to leave Troy. The gullible Trojans concluded that the war was over and falling for the bluff, pulled the horse through ropes into the city. The Trojans poured out of the horse, unleashing a surprise attack eventually sacking the whole city and rescuing their queen.

Let’s unravel this heavily embellished story, shall we?

There are myriad reasons for not believing in this narrative. And they seem pretty plausible:

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First and foremost, constructing a horse with a “hollow- belly capacity” would have taken months. The Trojans would have noticed the construction taking place outside the plains without missing the rare sight of a gigantic and hollow horse.

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Mobility and weight issues debunk the canonical account. Bronze age technology wouldn’t have underpinned the support of a horse housing 30 soldiers, taller than the impenetrable walls of Troy yet mobile enough to be transported from the construction site to the fort.

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This could be a whopping siege machine or a battering ram draped in wet horse hides to prevent them from being set alight. War machines, named after animals, was an aspect of the pervading culture then. So, possibly, this painted-battering-ram managed to affect a breach!

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There is another theory that the God Poseidon, who is also the God of horses and earthquakes, sent a huge earthquake to knock down those walls. Poseidon was even alleged to have originally built the walls of Troy and taking them down by an earthquake was no mean feat for him.

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Hisarlik, found atop a large mound in western Turkey, is identified as the ancient city of Troy by a high-strung German Archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann. He furrowed inevitably through the layer that was declared a site thousand years older than Troy, taking invaluable jewellery and giving them to his wife.

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Lastly, the city of Troy endured creations and destructions as shovels have been dug deep into the soil. The Greeks alluding to this reference seems the best way to play with the indented storyline without raising eyebrows.

Still believe in that Trojan Horse thingy? Believe in unicorns instead.